The two-alarm blaze ignited about 9 a.m. at the Palmer Promotional Products building on the 1600 block of Farnsworth near St. Aubin in east Detroit and continued to burn as of 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Firefighters at the scene said the building would be a total loss.

HazMat crews responded to the scene and had left by about 1 p.m. Detroit Fire Lt. Theresa Halsell was unable to confirm what was fueling the fire but said the dispatch of HazMat personnel was precautionary.

Firefighters who entered the building in the morning said the top two floors of the building were filled with chemicals.

Palmer Promotional Products, which also has an office in St. Clair Shores, makes business signs, restaurant and bar accessories and product displays, according to its website.

"I can't confirm anything," a clerk from the company said when reached by phone, adding that she would forward MLive Detroit's request for comment to a company spokesperson.

At least two employees evacuated the building unharmed. Detroit Battalion Chief James Houseworth said there were no injuries of any kind - firefighter or civilian - at around 3:00 p.m.

Houseworth called it the biggest fire he's responded to in two years and said there was a scent of kerosene and a large number of pallets inside.

"I don't think this is going to go out today," he said, adding that he had 36 fighters at the scene and it still wasn't enough to put out the blaze.

Around 2:45 p.m. firefighters at the scene reported the fire under control though it was still burning strong.

Multiple firefighters said it would take all night if not multiple days to extinguish all the flames in the multiple buildings affected.

Gus Burns contributed reporting.

Katie Bailey is a photographer and general assignment reporter for MLive Detroit. Call her at 919-610-9049, email her at Katie_Bailey@mlive.com, and follow her on Twitter.